


Snippets of Kansas

by Thursdays_Angel



Series: Picking Up the Pieces [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Morgan Stark is a cutie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23499745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursdays_Angel/pseuds/Thursdays_Angel
Summary: Scenes from Not in Kansas Anymore that didn't make it into the full work.
Relationships: Frigga | Freyja & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki & Thor, Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Series: Picking Up the Pieces [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1358788
Comments: 43
Kudos: 103





	1. Dinner and a Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki cooks dinner, Morgan and Lila help. Laughter at the expense of the Avengers ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing well given the craziness that is the world right now. I thought a little fluff would be a welcome change.
> 
> I do have another multi-chapter fic in the works that's not a part of either series and no where near as long as Kansas. It's one I started long before I began the Pieces series but I think it'll be fun.

**_Dinner and a Show_ **

Loki kept an ear out for the children as he browsed the shelves of tomato products. Lady Barton wasn’t too far away, browsing other foodstuffs further down the aisle. Loki finally found what he was looking for and placed several cans in the cart. Double-checking the children’s location and finding them both attentively following Lady Barton, he made his way to the spice aisle for what he needed there.

After grabbing a handful of different spices (he wasn’t entirely sure what the Barton’s had in their pantry) he felt something smack into his leg. He raised an eyebrow at Morgan who had pushed one of the child sized “Customer in Training” carts into him. She grinned, “Put it in mine Ki.”

Lila ran up beside Morgan pushing her own cart. “I need some too Mister Ki.”

Loki split the spices up between their carts, finding more amusement in their excitement than he probably should have.

Morgan spotted something on the shelf. She left her cart and grabbed a bag of chocolate chips, “Can we make cookies?”

“I suppose but we’ll need more than one bag,” Loki replied. Morgan grabbed the entire box, which Loki quickly put back. “We don’t need _that_ many bags.”

“Are you sure?” Morgan asked, “You an’ T’or eat a lot of cookies.”

“Yes I’m…” Loki paused, thinking about just how many people they were feeding now. He grabbed a few more bags, “Maybe you’re right.” He would need to reevaluate his spaghetti sauce supplies. “What about pan cookies?” he suggested. Those would be less tedious to make.

“We need frosting!” Morgan skirted around him and sped off down the aisle.

Loki was quick to catch up to her. “We can make our own,” he laughed, grabbing a couple bags of powdered sugar. He split the bags between both girl’s carts.

Lady Barton turned down the aisle. “Find everything you need?” she asked.

“I think so,” Loki replied. “I just hope we’ll have enough.”

“We might have too much.”

Loki chuckled, “Have you met my brother?”

She laughed too, “Good point.”

Loki inspected the carts, doing some quick calculations in his head and decided they did indeed have enough. Lady Barton had picked up the items she needed and they headed to the front of the store to check out.

“Ki,” Morgan asked as they passed several coolers, “I’m thirsty. Can we get a drink?”

They had been in the store for quite some time. “Of course. What do you want?” Loki asked. Morgan clasped her hands together and gave him her best puppy eyes and he knew instantly what she wanted before she even answered. “You have been a good girl so I suppose you may have a soda.”

Morgan let out a little shout of happiness, bouncing around her cart. She ran to the cooler, Lila following closely behind, and the two girls each picked out a bottle of soda.

They completed their purchase, loaded everything and everyone into the car and returned to the farm. After unloading the vehicle and putting everything they weren’t going to use away, Loki took possession of the kitchen. He gathered all of the items he needed and set about preparing the spaghetti sauce.

Loki wasn’t entirely sure where everyone was. Since they had been staying with the Barton’s, they had all been helping out around the farm. He supposed that was where most everyone else was right now. Younger Loki, on the other hand, was probably upstairs sleeping again. His energy was returning, as was his voracious appetite. He knew the aroma, which was slowly filtering throughout the house, would draw his attention. This recipe, one they had both learned from a Midgardian woman many years ago, never failed to make his mouth water.

Of course, Loki couldn’t do anything without his “helpers”. Morgan and Lila each stood on a stool helping him cook. After the sauce was all put together and simmering away, it would cook for several hours, they began to mix up cookie dough.

Loki, being Loki, wasn’t about to make their cooking adventure boring. Using his seiðr he made the ingredients “dance” into the bowls, much to each child’s delight. Music played through his phone, giving each of the ingredients a beat to dance to. Once the dough was as mixed as it could be, Loki opened one of the bags of chocolate chips and tipped the bag. The chips danced around the edge of the bowl before diving into the dough.

After setting the oven to the right temperature and making sure it was hot enough, he helped both girls spread the cookie dough out on sheet pans for the cookie cake. They may have each pilfered a small bite of cookie dough but that would be their secret.

It was as the cookie cake was being pulled from the oven that everyone who had been working out in the fields returned. To his surprise, Frigga and younger Loki were with them.

Stark sniffed at the air, “What smells so good?”

“Loki’s making spaghetti,” Lady Barton replied.

“You know how to cook?” Barton asked skeptically.

“Yes,” Loki said, “my mother taught me most of what I know but I picked up a few recipes here and there.”

Younger Loki made a beeline for the stove. “Is that Lady Joy’s spaghetti sauce?”

“It is.”

Younger Loki pulled out a spoon and gave the sauce a taste. His eyes fluttered and he let out a happy little purr. “Mother, I love you but Lady Joy… that woman could _cook_. It’s a wonder I didn’t end up as fat as Volsgagg.”

“Who is Lady Joy?” Thor asked.

“A Midgardian woman I met decades ago. She had several children and over twice as many grandchildren. Many of her recipes she made up herself just to have a little variety. Her family get-togethers were always entertaining.” His expression turned wistful, “No one ever left hungry and there was always laughing.” He placed the spoon in the sink and leaned back against the counter. “For a time I felt more a part of her family than my own.”

Loki knew that last part hadn’t been said to hurt Frigga or Thor, it was simply a fact. In the decade or so Loki had spent on Midgard at that time, Lady Joy and her family had been a balm to his soul. Loki had hated when the time came that he had to leave so, given how much he had cared for the woman and her family so he had told her who he was and why he had to leave. She had taken the information much more calmly than Loki had been expecting. She had even invited him to return if he ever wanted to.

“Well it smells amazing,” Stark said, “and you even made desert.”

“Can we eat the cookie cake now?” Morgan asked.

“They still need to cool and we’ve got to put frosting on them,” Loki said.

Morgan sighed. She waved her hands through the air, “Can’t you use your magic to make it go faster?”

“No, but if you are patient and don’t become all pouty, I’ll let you lick the beater.”

“Okay. Lila!” Morgan called as she ran back into the living room, “Ki said we can lick the frosting!”

“You’re setting the kids up for a sugar high tonight,” Lady Barton said.

“Well, luckily they have a huge farm to run around in which to burn off that energy. Or, you know,” Loki wiggled his fingers, allowing tiny wisps of green to dance around them, “sleeping spell.”

“I hope you have a spell to help with pain,” Banner said, slowly making his way through the kitchen, “I think I pulled something.”

Loki rolled his eyes, stirred the sauce again, and went to make sure the girls weren’t tearing the living room apart.

A few hours later, and after a thorough cleanup of the kitchen because someone thought it would be funny to pull the beaters from the frosting while they were still on, found everyone sitting down to dinner. Loki found himself sitting between Morgan and Lila and helped them get their plates. He and younger Loki both found it quite amusing watching Thor trying to twirl his spaghetti around his fork. Younger Loki, on the other hand, made a show of making _perfect_ spaghetti sandwiches. Thor looked at him like he’d sprouted a second head.

“That’s just wrong,” Banner remarked. “Spaghetti and bread should _never_ be used like that.”

Simultaneously, Loki and younger Loki cried, “Blasphemy!” Younger Loki folded the bread holding the spaghetti and keeping perfect eye contact with Banner, took a bite.

“You gotz to slurp it!” Morgan said to Thor when the man failed to keep his pasta on his fork. She then proceeded to demonstrate and managed to smack herself in the face with the pasta, splattering sauce all over her. She finished her bite and made a face as Loki wiped the sauce off. “Hey Ki, let’s do Lady and Tramp.”

“We are not doing Lady and the Tramp,” Loki said.

“What’s Lady and the Tramp?” Thor asked. Rogers shrugged, clearly not understanding the reference either.

Barton sputtered, choking on his food as he tried to both laugh and not spew his spaghetti across the table. Rogers pounded on his back and Stark laughed while Romanov discretely hid her smile behind her hand.

“You should _totally_ do Lady and the Tramp,” Stark said, “from that reaction alone.”

Loki raised an eyebrow but… Barton’s reactions had been humorous. Using Morgan’s fork, he separated a single piece of spaghetti from her plate. She put one end in her mouth and he took the other. They ate the length of spaghetti, coming closer and closer, until Loki bit through the pasta, darted to the side, licked his lips and placed a big wet kiss against Morgan’s cheek, making quite the show of it. Morgan squealed with laugher.

“You did it wrong Ki,” Morgan said once her laugher calmed.

“No I didn’t.”

“Yeah huh.” She pulled on his sleeve, getting sauce on his shirt, until he leaned down to her again. “You’re supposed to get a kissy too.”

Loki feigned ignorance, “I am?”

“Yes,” she grabbed his cheeks, smearing _more_ spaghetti sauce on his face, (Norns, how was she getting so much sauce on her?) and gave him a kiss. “There.”

“Thank you,” Loki made a face as he took a napkin to wipe his cheeks with. “Is there a rule that states children and spaghetti are supposed to be this messy?”

“Definitely,” Lady Barton replied and motioned towards Lila.

If possible, Lila was covered in even _more_ sauce than Morgan. “That’s it, after dinner we’re taking you two out back and hosing you down.”

“Okay,” Lila said.

“That’s supposed to be a threat.”

“Sounds fun,” Morgan answered.

Loki threw up his hands. “I give up.”

Dinner continued on, everyone bantering back and forth throughout the rest of the meal. After dinner and desert, there wasn’t a single slice of cookie cake left over, Loki did take both girls outside. They played, burning off as much excess energy as possible. True to his word, he eventually took the hose and began to spray them. The evening was still quite warm and the water ended up being refreshing for everyone. Younger Loki used his seiðr to create mud people to chase the girls around with.

After giving his hose to Frigga, Loki didn’t trust anyone else with it, he used his own magic to manipulate the water to dance through the air. He exchanged a look with younger Loki, both grinning mischievously, and together they formed a large ball of water in the air. It broke off into several smaller balls and without warning, flew towards the six unsuspecting (read: not paying attention) Avengers. Their shrill screams caused everyone else to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lady Joy is _totally_ a reference to my grandma, though that's not her name. I left the era which Loki met her ambiguous mainly because I haven't decided when to place it.


	2. Homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan is homesick and Loki feels out of his depth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a small portion of the song "Odal" in here. I've linked the song and the part I've written in starts around the 1:45 mark. You can find it [here.](https://youtu.be/zpNwHXJgl8s)
> 
> For anyone reading Building Bridges, the update for that fic will unfortunately be delayed. Life didn’t just throw a wrench in the works, it threw the whole damn toolbox.

_**Homesick** _

Morgan splashed around the bathtub, pretending to swim from one end to the other. Little Viking longboats bobbed in the waves her movements created. Loki watched for a moment longer then returned to the book in his lap.

“Only a few more minutes,” he told her, “then it’s time to get out.”

“Okay,” replied Morgan. 

Something about the tone of her voice had Loki looking up again. He marked his place and closed the book. “What’s wrong sweetie?”

Morgan shrugged, “nothing.”

He didn’t believe her. She had been rather quiet since she and Lila had come inside for the evening. He put the book into his dimensional pocket then grabbed her bath towel and knelt beside the tub. “Are you ready to get out now?”

She nodded and stood. Loki helped her from the tub then to dry off. There was a sadness in her eyes he hadn’t noticed earlier. After she dressed in her pajamas and he drained the tub, they left the bathroom and made their way downstairs.

“You can still play for a little bit before bed,” Loki said, taking a seat on the couch with the intention of reading some more.

Morgan crawled into his lap, derailing that plan. “I’m tired Ki,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

“You want to go to bed?”

Morgan nodded so Loki used his seiðr to call forth their mattress and inflate it. Blankets appeared and by the look of it nothing about it looked in any way like a blow up mattress.

Loki tucked Morgan into bed. “What story do you want to hear tonight?”

Morgan shrugged. “I don’ know.”

“How about your favorite one?”

She shrugged again. Something was definitely wrong but Loki did not know what. He ran his fingers through her hair, drying the dark locks as he did so. He stayed with her, letting his magic create scenes for her to watch, the colors soothing her until she eventually fell asleep.

Once Loki was sure she was sleeping he took a seat on the couch and finally resumed reading his book. Loki read several chapters, listening as the other occupants of the house went through their evening routine and settled down for the night. Loki’s own eyes grew heavy and he finally put his book aside.

Darkness had fallen completely over the Barton farm though light from the moon shone silvery white through the windows. Loki closed the curtains, draping the living room in complete darkness.

Loki shifted into his sleep clothes, a pair of loose fitting sleep pants and a t-shirt he’d pilfered from Thor. Placing a kiss to Morgan’s head, he settled down and went to sleep. 

Loki had not been asleep for long before he woke again. His sense that something was wrong pulling him from slumber. A quick check with his seiðr assured him they were safe. He rolled over to check on Morgan, calling forth a very faint witch light and saw she was no longer in the bed. He sat up, calling more lights to look around. Perhaps she had gone to use the bathroom?

He left the bed and went in search of her. While he knew they were all safe, he wouldn’t be completely at ease until he found Morgan. 

Soft sniffing reached his ears and he rounded the kitchen counter to find Morgan sitting on the floor with the orb in her lap. It had darkened somewhat as the lights were off in the room the orb sat in in their reality.

Loki crouched down beside Morgan. He reached for the orb but she only clung tighter to it. He saw that her eyes were wet with tears. “Morgan,” he asked, “sweetheart what’s wrong?”

Her lip trembled and more tears ran down her cheeks. Loki felt his chest tighten at the sight. “I wanna go home,” Morgan said, her voice wavering as she fought not to cry.

“I know,” he replied softly. “Come here.”

Morgan scooted into Loki’s embrace and he gently took the orb from her and put it back on the counter. He stood, Morgan pressing her face against his chest and he could feel the fabric becoming wet. He glanced back at the orb. She must have taken it in the hope one of her parents was nearby. 

Loki paced the downstairs gently rocking Morgan as he went. It was warm enough that he decided to walk around outside. “Morgan,” Loki said once they were on the porch, “it will be okay sweetie.”

Morgan sniffed, “I wanna go home Ki.” She began to cry harder. “I want mommy.”

“I know and in the morning we’ll have daddy get mommy for you but… I can’t get you home tonight sweetie. I’m sorry.”

Morgan clung to him as she cried. It was late, Morgan was homesick and tired and Loki felt like a failure. They had been in this reality for weeks, going on months now and they were no closer to getting home than they were before they’d come to the farm. Loki hugged her tighter, feeling his own tears forming. 

Morgan cried for her parents and her home. She had been thrust into unfamiliar surroundings and Loki was amazed it had taken this long for homesickness to set in. Loki was homesick also but he had hidden it from Morgan. He’d hidden a good amount of his feelings from Morgan since arriving in this reality. “I wish to go home too,” he confessed.

“Daddy’s here but he’s not daddy,” Morgan hiccupped. “I want daddy. I want mommy. I want to go _home_.”

Loki’s chest constricted at the pain in her tone. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to get us back yet. I’m trying Morgan, I’m trying so hard.” He’d made her a promise but he had yet to fulfill it. He _should_ have gotten them home by now. All of his knowledge, his prowess with seiðr and he _couldn’t_ do this one simple thing. Except… it wasn’t simple but Norns damn it, it should be!

Loki stood there on the porch trying to think of some way, _any_ way, to get them back. He had to find a way to return Morgan to her parents. She _needed_ her parents. He may have a special bond with her but he would never replace her parents in her heart. He wouldn’t want to anyway. 

Loki drew in a shaky breath. He needed to be strong for Morgan. She was his responsibility, his number one priority. Yes, he was glad they had managed to rescue younger Loki and that the younger was slowly starting to recover from his ordeal but he needed to focus on what was important.

“Ki” Morgan said, her tiny shoulders shaking as she continued crying, “can we get mommy? I want mommy.”

Loki, unable to keep his emotions at bay any longer, let his tears fall. “I know but…” a sob escaped him. There was no but, not in any meaningful way. All there was, was failure. He was letting Morgan down at every turn and, if he was being honest with himself, he wanted his own mother as well. He understood what she meant about her father being there but not actually being her father. Thor and Frigga were here but they weren’t _his_. “But we can’t tonight,” he finished weakly. 

Loki realized there was nothing he could do for Morgan. He had no way of giving her what she wanted, he couldn’t alleviate her sadness, all he could do was be a shoulder for her to cry on and do his best to soothe her.

He forcefully gained control of his emotions. If he broke down completely in front of her it would only make things worse.

Loki adjusted his hold on her, settling her more comfortably against him. He swayed his body, hoping the motion would help to calm her, perhaps even get her to fall asleep. He began to hum and closed his eyes. His mind drifted back to when his own mother had given him comfort as a child and an old lullaby began to roll off his tongue. 

_“Sjå meg djupt i augene blå du må forstå_

_“Hugs at alle eingong forlét natta den kjem_

_“Eg gjev deg din odel om du vil ha den fer ikkje fra_

_“Tungt den veger hugs, ta ikkje meir enn du orkar å bere.”_

Loki lost himself in the song, letting the words flow without thought and he could almost hear the melody that was meant to accompany it. He stood there, swaying and singing and ever so slowly Morgan’s crying stopped. The more he sang the more she began to relax. When she went completely limp in his arms he realized she had finally fallen asleep.

He stayed there for a few moments longer, continuing to hum. When he was absolutely certain she was sleeping, he made his way inside and carefully tucked her into bed. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before returning outside. He wouldn’t leave her alone for more than a few minutes but he needed a moment to himself.

Once back outside, he allowed himself to finally let out the emotions he had held in check. He sat on the porch swing and sobbed.

Loki berated himself for his tears. They did no good and would not help him in any way and yet, he couldn’t stop them. He had kept so much bottled inside in order to keep from causing Morgan more stress and fear than she’d already experienced. While his own stress levels were through the roof, he had to remain strong for Morgan. However, he felt that at any moment he would fall apart completely. 

Loki gave a start when someone put a hand on his shoulder, having not heard the other person approach. He instantly tried to collect himself but paused when he realized it was Frigga. 

Frigga gazed at him in concern and sat beside him on the swing. “Loki?” she asked. 

Her voice being identical to his mother’s set him off again. He buried his face in his hands, weeping anew. He tried to speak but was unable to due to the force of his sobs. Her hand moved from his shoulder to rub at his back.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped once he was able to calm himself enough to speak. 

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” she replied. With her other hand she tucked his hair behind his ear. “What has you so upset?”

“I…” he pressed his lips together when he nearly lost control again. He drew in a shaky breath. “Morgan misses her parents. She wants to go home but I—” He laughed but there was no humor to it, “I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know what to do.”

Frigga drew him to her, her fingers now running through his hair. The touch was so achingly familiar but at the same time, different. He longed for _his_ mother. 

“You have already done so much,” she said. “Morgan is just homesick.”

“I know.”

“You are too.”

Loki couldn’t deny the truth of her words but he didn’t want to focus on him. “This isn’t fair to her. I should have found a way by now. Morgan _needs_ her parents not…” he laughed although it sounded suspiciously like a sob, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”

Frigga continued to card her fingers through his hair. She remained silent for a bit before she said, “You are doing your best and that is all that can be asked of you at the moment.”

Loki took a few more shaky breaths but he couldn’t get his crying to stop. “What if my ‘best’ isn’t enough?”

She pulled back and gave him one of her caring smiles. “Your best is more than enough. Loki, you are expecting more of yourself than anyone else here.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked. “Because of what we did, your reality is suffering. I know the means to help fix that but I—”

She placed her fingers over his lips, silencing him. “Loki,” she spoke gently, “your only responsibility is to that little girl in there. The both of you have been through quite a lot since you were brought here and I know you well enough to know you have kept your emotions behind lock and key since the beginning.” Frigga moved her hand to wipe his tears away. “It’s alright to cry dear one. Sometimes it’s the only way to release the emotions you have been suppressing for so long.”

“I can’t afford to do this. I need to focus my energy on getting Morgan home not…” he gestured at nothing in particular, “this.”

“And what is this?”

Loki scrubbed his hands down his face. “I don’t even know. She needs her mother and father but…” Barton’s jest the other day about Loki being Morgan’s dad came to mind, “all she has right now is me.”

“She does have you and you have all of us to help. Morgan needs her parents, I agree, and I know you will find a way to return the both of you to your reality. For now though, you are her father.”

Loki snorted, “Norns help her.”

Frigga looked at him quizzically, “Why do you say that? It is a responsibility I believe you take on willingly.”

“Me, a father? I don’t care what the Midgardians mythos has on us, I am the last person who should ever be responsible for children.”

“That is your homesickness talking,” Frigga admonished gently. “You will make a wonderful father someday Loki. The way you are with Morgan is proof of that. You were able to calm her and help her back to sleep. The hour is late and Morgan was very tired from her play today. It’s only natural she would become homesick given everything you have both gone through. I’m sure things will be better in the morning.”

“You heard her crying?” Loki had tried to keep from disturbing the other occupants of the house. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth, “I heard you singing. I didn’t realize you remembered that lullaby.”

Loki felt his cheeks burning. “Of course I remember it,” he said, “you used to sing it to Thor and I when we were young.”

“It’s little things like that that show me you will make a wonderful father.”

Loki covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know how to help with her homesickness.”

“Just be there for her. She misses her parents but as I said, things will be better in the morning.”

He glanced at Frigga, “You speak from experience?”

Frigga smiled, “Well I happen to know of one dark haired boy who has been through his own bouts of homesickness, especially at such a young age.” Her smile faded slightly. “Your abandonment as an infant is most likely one reason you never wanted to part with us.”

His abandonment probably explained a lot about his personality but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. He decided to set his mind on something else she had said. “What, by the Nine, would make you think I would _ever_ be a good father?”

Her smile returned. “Everything,” she replied, “and while we can sit here all night so I can list them, you won’t believe it because you can’t see it.”

She was correct, he wouldn’t believe it. “I’m making it up as I go,” he confessed. 

Frigga chuckled, “All new parents do, yet even so, you’re doing a wonderful job. Morgan is very well behaved and she listens to you. It is easy to see she trusts you.”

“It’s all bribery.”

“Don’t do that,” Frigga chided gently. “Don’t put yourself down.”

It was hard not to do so sometimes, especially after his fall. “I try not to but,” he shrugged, “sometimes I can’t help second guessing myself. I… I’ve never admitted that before. I usually hide it better.”

“You’re tired and you are homesick as well. You are similar to Morgan in that I am your mother and yet, I’m not.”

“You were, up until the realities diverged.”

She nodded in agreement. “True, just as you and Loki were one and the same until the divergence which means I know you better than you want to admit.”

He wasn’t so sure about that. In his reality, he and his parents were mending their relationship but at this point in time, they barely knew him at all. He had fractured at the knowledge of the truth of his birth and even before that, he had kept much of what he was feeling hidden. He hadn’t wanted to be seen as weak and had thought his mother and father found him lacking when compared to Thor but…

Maybe that part had been _his_ problem. It was true that his father had thought he was overreacting in his concerns about Thor as king and both his father and mother had seemed surprised by his behavior after Jötunheim. Then again, how could they have known his darker feelings of he never voiced them and had instead insisted he was fine? Norns, their family had terrible communication.

“You are stressing over returning Morgan and yourself to your reality while also stressing over what is happening in ours,” Frigga said, breaking into his thoughts. “You can’t do that. All you will end up doing is make yourself sick. Give yourself a moment to just breathe and, while it is easy for me to say so, try not to stress so much. It will do you no good.”

Loki knew she was right but knowing he needed to stop worrying and only focus on one thing at a time, but knowing it and being able to get his feelings to change were two totally different things. He sighed, “I wish it were that simple.”

“Me too but there is something you can do to get started.”

“What is that?”

“Sleep. Go to bed Loki. You are just as tired, if not more so, than Morgan.”

He knew she was right. His stress had triggered his insomnia which only led to more stress. It was a vicious cycle and one he desperately needed to get out of lest his body completely give out. He would be no good to anyone then. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Fatigue finally began to wash over him. “Thank you,” he said. 

Frigga stood then leaned over to press a kiss to his forehead. “You’re welcome and if you need someone to listen, you can come to me.”

Loki stood too and nodded. Together they returned inside where Frigga bid him goodnight. Loki crawled onto the mattress he shared with Morgan. She rolled over and snuggled against him. Loki wrapped his arms around her and curled up as well.

“Ki,” Morgan asked groggily. 

Loki hadn’t meant to wake her. “Go back to sleep sweetie. In the morning I’ll have someone get mommy and daddy to come to the orb for you. I don’t know when we will get home but I’m doing everything I can to get us home soon.”

Her fingers played with the sleeve of his t-shirt. She yawned, “Will you sing again Ki?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Of course.” He cast a simple spell to keep their little area soundproof so no one else was disturbed and sang the lullaby to her again. 

Morgan was lulled to sleep by the sound of his voice and Loki found himself beginning to relax as well. It wasn’t but a few minutes after Morgan had fallen asleep that Loki succumbed to slumber as well.


End file.
